An Adventure of Sorts
by theramenfreak
Summary: It started with a simple knock at the window and gust of brisk air. If it had been introduced to Jamie by anything more, then it could be considered something like an adventure, but that's impossible. Adventures don't happen to little boys with knobby knees or gap-teeth. It was something entirely different, but not in the least less exciting.
1. Of Pirates and Imagination

_**The rating might go up, depending on which direction I take this in. Just remember that for now, the main focus, while being a shipping fic, is on the /development/ of their relationship which means a lot more frustration and 'omgjustkisshimalready' and not too much...'action', per se. **_

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_[It started with a simple knock at the window and gust of brisk air._

_If it had been introduced to Jamie by anything more, then it could be considered something like an adventure, but that's impossible. Adventures don't happen to little boys with knobby knees or gap-teeth. It was something else. Something entirely different, but not in the least less exciting. Instead of finding himself battling off one thousand evil pirates, he found his blood pounding in his ears for different reasons. He caught his breath, not when his loyal companion dangled perilously off the edge of a cliff, but rather with each brush of cold air against his skin. It's true, the majority of the dialogue was kept wrapped up in his head (all the things he would've wished to voice, had he possessed the kind of courage that only catches up the main character towards the end of their quest) but the important things were said, all the same]_

Things like, "Oi. Bookworm!"

Jamie tore his eyes away from the _Unexplained Enigmas of the Mid West _to see a familiar shock of white hair bobbing outside his bedroom window. When Jack had to tap against the frosted glass again, Jamie was spurred into action. He dumped the hardcover on his bed unceremoniously and leaped nearly the entire distance to the windowsill. He took a second to cringe at the loud thump emanating from his room at the clumsy landing, but thankfully, the TV was still turned up too loud for his parents to stir. With a wide grin, Jamie shoved his window open and immediately shivered at the freezing cold shower of snowflakes he got for the trouble.

"Jack! You're here al-"

"…took you long enough, I've been knocking for-"

"…but it's not even _November_! It shouldn't be snowing yet, you're-"

"…mean do you know how difficult it is to just kind of _hover_ in place for a-"

"…not complaining, but pretty soon, people are going to be wondering about this almost constant snowfall, and if you're discovered, then-"

"…is great and all, but it's kind of like running down a hill – easy to get going but _really_ hard to just stay still, and your window isn't that big of a target so-"

"…plus if I miss too much school I'll end up failing everything, so maybe cut back on the snow days or-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you just-"

Jamie realised his mistake immediately when Jack stopped inspecting his book case and whirled in surprise, "No! I love snow days! I didn't think you were listening…"

"So you tried to give me a heart attack?" Jack joked, clutching his chest in mock pain and then feinting into mid-air. He followed through with the motion, turning to glide horizontally towards Jamie's new ant farm on his bedside table. He tapped the glass experimentally which sent the ants into a messy frenzy. Jack's eyes widened and his smile grew wider so he leaned closer, poking the display at different points and laughing when the ants would change direction, mid-hurry.

"I'm just trying to think about my education," Jamie replied in a mock-proud tone. It was one of the only conversation topics that his parents would breach nowadays. Sure, he supposed seventh grade was important, but compared to an entire day filled with snowball fights and hot chocolate, it was a prison.

"Aren't you a little young for all that planning-ahead stuff?" Jack asked absently, still paying rapt attention to the ants. They had worked themselves up into such a panic that the larger majority of them were standing stock-still in the middle of the farm, preparing themselves for their inevitable doom.

"Yes," Jamie replied sullenly, "But it's all I hear now."

His change in tone seemed to catch Jack's attention, because he glanced up from the glass and caught Jamie's eye with a large smile.

"Not from me," he chuckled, floating almost gracefully over to the boy, "How about you grab your coat and we forget about school for a while?"

Jamie's spirits lifted exponentially at that. He had already been 'tucked in' for the night so his parents shouldn't be poking their heads inside his door any time soon. If he stuffed his pillows under his sheets just so, it would mean they'd be fooled from any angle. Unless, of course, they lifted up the blanket, but Jamie knew how to make a very convincing body-lookalike.

"R-right! Give me a sec! I need, uh…jacket, jacket…aha!" Jamie stumbled back over to his bed and snagged the stuffed giraffe he'd won at the last summer festival on his way. He nearly lost his balance, trying to stuff his arm into the coat while arranging his blankets so that every inch of 'him' was covered, but he managed both with only a stubbed toe. Jamie was halfway towards his window when he remembered his gloves and hat, and turned back around to search for another two painful minutes. By the time he found them, Jack was sitting patiently on the windowsill, tapping his staff gently against the wall. Tiny spider webs of frost crawled up the plaster from the places where Jack's heels rested and he was absently drumming his fingers in time with a tune Jamie couldn't hear.

"Ready?" He asked, and Jamie nodded enthusiastically in response.

Jack fell back, out of the window and in automatic response Jamie darted forward to see where he had gone. When he leaned out, he saw Jack rise back up into his vision and motioned to his back, "Want a ride?"

"Like a piggyback?"

"Exactly like one."

Jamie clambered onto the windowsill, perched like a weird bird. His elbows stuck out at odd angles and his right knee dug into his ribcage uncomfortably.

"Alright…"

Jack sidled up next to the house and started rising up, closer to the window.

"All aboard!" He called with a whistle for added effect and Jamie stifled a laugh. It would be terrible form to wake the neighbours with nothing to show for it but the Bennett's kid _flying_ through some divine act of comedy.

Slowly, Jamie reached out his arms and tried to ignore the slight tremble in them. This was further out of his window than he'd prefer to be, but thankfully, his hands met with a steady blue hoodie before any thoughts of falling to…well not his _death_, technically, but that's hard to remember when you're suspended in mid-air by a manifestation of collective belief. He tightened his fingers the second they felt the chilled material in his grasp and he shut his eyes when his feet left the wooden sill. For a heart stopping second, his legs dangled over empty air, then one of Jack's arms twisted behind him and scooped them up, around his torso so that Jaime could hold on with something other than his clumsy, glove-clad hands. It took him a moment, but finally, Jamie thought to realise that he was currently hovering in the air – _flying_.

Sure, he had done so before, during his run in with Pitch, but while he and the guardians were not under the threat of world domination, it seemed a lot more enjoyable.

"You ready?" Jack asked and when Jamie replied with an unsteady, '_yes_', he twisted and shot towards the horizon with a whoop.

It took Jamie an entire twenty seconds to unglue his eyelids and when he did, the first thing he found, was that maybe he should have brought snow goggles. The wind tore at his hair and stung the skin on his face. He felt the bite of the cold even through his winter coat since Jack was almost as chilled as a snowman and the feel of dipping and swerving with the air currents left him a tad unsteady.

Nevertheless, he opened his mouth in amazement as city lights blurred together below them and a full, three hundred and sixty degree view of the horizon was splayed out before him.

"Having fun, Jamie?" Jack called back in curiosity.

Jamie nodded at first, then mentally hit himself when he realised Jack couldn't see him. Instead, he choked out a simple, '_wow_' which just made Jack grin and turn his head back to where they were headed. Their destination, by the looks of it, was a large hill with a dense forest to the south approaching rapidly.

Sure enough, Jack angled down and glided to a smooth, running stop atop the hill despite the snow that tried to trip the pair up. The second his feet touched the ground, Jamie slid from his back and stumbled for a moment before catching himself and staring up at what he now realised was a cubby house built into the tree line. He'd not seen it from the air since the canopy had shielded it from view but now that his feet were planted firmly on the ground, Jamie decided that he could quite happily live here permanently.

The house before him could be considered nothing less than a masterpiece of carpentry and design. There were two cubby houses, actually, but they were connected by a rope bridge. The structures were made of simple wood, but had somehow survived the weather and did not look rotten yet. There were tin rooves on each. The metal was pockmarked but there were no gaping holes and the rope ladders leading up to the entrances looked sturdy as well. So did the slide-exits.

With a large grin stealing over his expression, Jamie turned to Jack in order to express his excitement, only to find the spot where the guardian had previously stood was empty. Instead, there was a small pile of snowballs, their intent clear. Sure enough, the second Jamie had one in his hand he heard a loud war cry from the cubby house nearest him and he turned to see a white ball sailing towards him. It connected with a flurry of snow and ice and when Jamie wiped the excess from his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Jack leaning out the window of the house. He ducked down behind the wall before Jaime could retaliate and another snowball was thrown like a grenade, with deadly precision over Jack's shoulder. Jaime managed to dodge with a shout of laughter and surprise, before he finally scooped up his loot of ammo and charged towards the rope ladder, dodging projectiles all the way.

It was a tricky job, climbing the ladder with one arm nursing a bundle of snowballs, but somehow he managed. Of course, by the time Jamie reached the top they had wilted slightly but they were sturdy enough to pelt at the laughing boy taking cover behind a rickety fold-up table on the other side of the room. Jack managed to avoid all but one of Jaime's shots, and he returned the volleys threefold but Jaime was out the door and running across the bridge before Jack realised he'd lost his target.

Jaime clambered into the second cubby house, taking a second to notice the hardwood structure and the ladder leading up, through the centre of the roof. Its destination wasn't obvious, but Jamie decided he'd need a pretty great escape route in order to avoid any more of Jack's snowballs. He hefted himself up onto the mini-stage which the ladder stemmed from and began climbing fervently. He was nearly at the top when he heard Jack burst into the room below him with his cry stuttering to a stop at the sight of an empty cubby.

"Jamie?" He asked into the silent room.

"Up here, slow poke!" Jamie called down around his stifled laughter, "You'll have to be faster than that to catch me!"

Jack whipped his head up so quickly Jamie heard it crack from the ceiling. He heard Jack's excited laughter at the challenge and turned his attention back to climbing through the hole in the roof. When he poked his head out of the opening, the first thing he saw was another platform of wood above him. Thankfully, the ladder continued through a hole in that as well, so he didn't have to dangle over the trees to investigate. Jamie pulled himself up, over the edge of the platform and rolled over carefully to find his nose in open air. There was a railing for protection, but that was about it for safety. With shaking hands that had nothing to do with the cold, Jamie hoisted himself into a standing position and breathed out slowly. It seemed he was level with the top of the canopy and he could see for miles in every direction.

The snow blanketing the tree tops was pristine and untouched and above him, a pirate flag whipped about in the wind. He grinned at the touch the owners of these houses had added and silently applauded their style. He too, would have gone with the Jolly Rodger.

"Admiring the view?" A voice taunted from behind him.

Jaime turned around very carefully, subconsciously aware that the circular platform waved slightly with the breeze.

"Ha! As if! I was just luring you up here!"

Jack laughed at Jamie's obvious lie and Jamie grudgingly chuckled too. It was kind of hard to deny that the sight-seeing opportunity was something else entirely. Especially since he was sure that his eyes were the size of dinner plates.

"To do what, may I ask, oh awe-inspiring one?" Jack asked with mock terror, raising his hands in surrender.

"To…uh…to trap you!" Jamie exclaimed, pulling an invisible sword from the waistband of his snow pants. He pointed the tip over Jack's heart and pulled a threatening face.

"Oh heavens no!" Jack cried without missing a beat. He cowered and leaned back over the railing as far as gravity would allow.

"That's right, you…uh…rap_scallion_! I have you cornered now! There's no escape!" Jamie exclaimed advancing slowly and with as much menace as he could conjure. He called up memories of reading about all the 'bad guys' in his books. There was _Voldemort_ and _Rasputin. Captain Hook _and _Black Beard. Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter and Count Olaf. _Jamie imagined them during their moments of triumph and tried his hardest to strut slowly across the platform. He puffed out his chest and smirked as if he knew something his foe didn't.

"Oh, please, your fearsomness! Spare me!"

"I'm afraid I can't! You're too much _trouble_!" Jamie raised his sword above Jack's head and he saw Jack fighting down a grin. He too, was barely managing to keep a straight face, but he continued anyway, "any last _words_?"

"Please! Nooooo!" Jack trailed off dramatically when Jamie brought his sword down and cut through Jack's chest. He smiled as the other boy choked and clutched at his heart like he was in pain. Jaime watched him fall backwards off his perch on the railing, in perfectly executed slow motion. In excitement, Jamie dashed forward to see his decent but when he looked over there was nothing there besides tree tops. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Jamie turned and found Jack's serious expression next to where he held his own invisible cutlass to Jamie's throat.

"Bested by justice once again, my old nemesis," Jack drawled with a twitch of his lips.

"Hey no fair! You're not supposed to be able to fly!" Jamie complained, accepting defeat by raising his hands in surrender.

"I think you'll find it comes in the job description," Jack replied, sheathing his sword.

"Job description?" Jamie asked curiously.

"Ah, never mind. It's just an expression," Jack waved his confusion off absently, before rising up into the air to glance around at the cubbies, "So what do you think of the place?"

"Is it yours!?" Jamie asked excitedly, suddenly realising that it could very well be home to Jack when the spirit wasn't freezing over entire continents.

"Oh, nah, I don't live here, if that's what you mean," Jack replied with a sigh, "It used to belong to this group of kids. They don't come around anymore, though."

"What? Why not?" Jamie asked, scandalized by the idea that kids his age would give up such an amazing hideout, "This is a work of _art_!"

"Well…they're not really kids anymore. Last I saw of the leader of their group, he was working in some car repair garage."

"Oh," Jamie sat down when a particularly strong gust of wind rocked him up onto his toes for balance and at his disappointed tone of voice Jack glanced over from where he lay on the railing.

"It's not that bad. I mean, now other kids can use it, right? Be a shame to let such a sweet set up like this rot in the woods forever…"

Jamie caught the sidelong glance that Jack shot him quickly and he got the feeling that as much as Jack was passing off the abandonment of the old cubby houses as nothing, he was a fair bit less-okay with it than he would have Jamie believe.

"How far is this place from my house?" Jamie wondered out loud. He'd spent the majority of their trip over with his eyes glued firmly shut against the wind.

"About an hour's walking distance," Jack replied with a gleam in his eyes that suggested he was cautiously growing enthusiastic in Jamie's interest, "Well I think it would be. I don't really walk much."

"Oh. Right," Jamie was silent for a moment, trying to decide whether or not he'd be able to convince his friends to walk for an entire hour for the promise of the best tree-house in history. When his past experiences dealing with his group offered up resounding support, he didn't stop the small smile that crept to his expression when he saw Jack's happiness at the question, "Do you think I could come back some time with my friends?"

Jack's expression brightened and he nodded enthusiastically, "of course! Definitely! If you bring your friends down, I'll have some ammo waiting."

"Really?! We could set up a fort on the ground level, under each house and have floor to canopy battles!" Jamie began excitedly.

"Yes! And if you make that bridge detachable, you'd have two separate sides!"

"…and we'd use the pulleys to get the snowballs and ice up to the cubbies-"

"…pretty sure you could aim really well out of a window, or from _up here_, you'd be able to take out so many-"

"…but _you_ can just make them so whichever side you're on will totally win-"

"…and you could make flags to show which side is which-"

"…then we'd be able to play _capture the flag_ as well, or – or-"

"…you'd have to make sure the railing was up to scratch with so much ice around-"

"…we could build another lookout tower, or a walkway through the trees, and-"

"…or that could just be part of the fun! Or…maybe not-"

"…I don't know where I'll get all the stuff to make it from, but I'm sure we'd be able to build a dungeon for the _scoundrels_ that-"

"…could add some of those bars that people swing on to get other places. Closer to the ground, of course, but it'd be great for daring escapes or-"

"…totally hold feats and stuff! Like in _The Knights of the Round Table_, but only on special occasions, like Christmas…or Boxing Day since mom would never let me out of the house for _Christmas Dinner_. Of course, we would have to find somewhere to keep some food and things, since Monty eats like a pig – that's not to say that I don't either but he really _wolfs it down_ if you know what I mean. Especially apples. I mean I don't know what his deal is but he loves them so we have to stock the place with heaps of apples, and sandwiches since that's all Caleb _ever_ eats, and Claude will eat anything he sees and…and…"

Jamie trailed off, as his churning imagination finally slowed down enough for his composure to catch up. Jack had stopped his own tirade of ideas already and was simply smiling at Jamie upside down from where he was lying on the railing. As Jamie slowly stopped his words from tumbling out, Jack sat up and turned to face the same direction as Jamie.

"We've got some work to do. Don't we?" He asked quietly.

Jamie nodded, feeling the effects of his adrenaline rush already seeping away. He kept his eyes fixed on the white tree tops and watched as a breeze swept small puffs of snow into the air. The motion of the lookout platform swaying slightly in time with their surroundings was much calmer when Jamie was firmly seated against one of the poles in the railing. Plus he could see Jack's staff resting across the other boy's stomach out of the corner of his eye and Jamie was well informed about the powers that it granted Jack - specifically the ability to _fly_. If he did fall, Jamie was content with the knowledge that Jack wouldn't let him continue to do so for long enough to cause injury…well _permanent_ injury, anyway.

"By the looks of it, you also got some sleep to catch up with," Jack noted when Jamie accidentally let a yawn sneak through his guard.

"What? No! I can stay up longer! We should start fixing up that bridge now, or-"

Jack laughed when Jamie was cut off by another unwanted yawn, and it was then that Jamie decided to relent. Now that he wasn't spurred on to run around madly, his eyelids were feeling awfully heavy.

"Seems like I should be getting you home, Jamie," Jack spoke quietly and Jamie just nodded in acceptance.

"I – yeah, okay. Are we going to fly again?" He asked with as much excitement as he could muster. Even though he had gotten more than one bug in his teeth, Jamie had decided that flying had been the coolest experience of his life, so far.

"Well unless you _wanted_ to walk," Jack joked, pulling himself to his feet and helping Jamie up with a pull.

"Let's fly," Jamie agreed.

Jack lowered himself so that Jamie could reach his hands over Jack's shoulders and then helped Jamie up with a slight jump. That elicited tiny squeak of surprise and Jack laughed as he felt Jamie cling tighter around his neck.

"Taking off in T-minus three…"

Jack took a half step back and crouched slightly like he'd seen that superhero do on Jamie's neighbour's TV once. He extended his hands out behind him and he felt Jamie's legs increase the pressure at Jack's sides.

"two…"

Without warning, Jack rocketed into the sky, making Jamie squeal incredibly girlishly, but his surprise soon died off into straight out laughter and Jack spiralled upwards. His grip around his staff was loose enough stay comfortable but he made sure to keep the grip firmer than he normally preferred. He was taking no chances when there was a passenger to worry about.

"That was unfair," Jamie muttered from his position, near Jack's ear.

"Surprises are more fun," Jack replied with a grin.

"Typical," Jamie smiled before the wind finally caught up with him and he was forced to close his eyes against the barrage of air against his face. He turned his head away and tucked it into the crook of his elbow so that his hat was blocking most of the winter air. Jamie could feel Jack's hoodie underneath his cheek. It was freezing cold for one, and it felt damp. Jamie could smell grass like Jack had recently taken a quick break to snooze in some field somewhere, and peppermint, like the candy his mother would set out at the beginning of December. It was an odd combination of scents and mixed in with it was the sting of cold air when he breathed in. Altogether, Jamie was puzzled over how such a strange combination of smells would cling to material, but he didn't dwell on it for long.

The chill emanating from Jack was enough to keep him from dozing but not so much that it had his teeth chattering. The motion of floating along in the air, and dipping sometime with the air currents was soothing, even when it made his stomach flip. Before he knew it, Jack was slowing down and twisting in the air so that they could fit through the window together. It was a tight fit but Jack made it look seamless.

He touched down gently, still hovering and just resting his toes on Jamie's floor boards. Jack backed towards the bed until Jamie could feel the mattress under his boots and then he slipped from his back to stand, off balance on his sheets. Jamie sat down as he pulled of his shoes and socks and Jack silently moved to the chair at Jamie's desk. He crouched on it, rather than sit and Jamie saw why when Jack started spinning himself, using he desk to gain momentum.

"You'll make yourself sick," Jamie commented in a whisper.

"Is that a challenge?" Jack laughed quietly, forgetting that the only other person in the house that could hear him was Sophie, and it was long past her bedtime.

"No, just a prediction," Jamie replied as he shrugged out of his winter coat. The wind on the way home seemed to have dried it out, like it had for his pants as well. He laid his jacket over the foot of his bed and attempted to shimmy out of his over-pants while still standing. That proved rather difficult since Jamie ended up flat on his back, but luckily he hadn't made a noise. The mattress had cushioned his fall and silenced what surely would've been a crash loud enough to wake his entire family.

"You right, Jamie?" Jack asked cautiously from his position across the room. He wasn't fooling anyone, though. Jamie could hear suppressed laughter in Jack's voice even as he struggled to get his pyjama-clad legs free.

"Just fine!" He replied with a huff when he finally managed to toss his snow pants into a heap in the corner of the room.

"Doesn't look like-"

Jack broke off into a quiet chuckle at Jamie's glare, which was just _daring _him to finish the sentence. He spun himself around again, and by the time the chair came to a slow stop, Jamie was sitting up in his bed, looking much more tired than a school boy should find himself on a weeknight. He was watching Jack with a small smile and when the winter spirit looked over, it grew into a full blown grin.

"Can we do this again?" Jamie asked, nose and cheeks still red from the wind and cold air outside, "please?"

"Next time I'm in the neighbourhood, I'll definitely drop by, alright?" Jack answered, standing up from the swivel chair and feeling gravity increase slightly on his left side. He staggered while his surrounds slowly stopped spinning, which seemed to make Jamie giggle and Jack decided that maybe flying would be safer than trying to walk.

"And we'll bring the rest of the group, too?"

"Of course!"

Jamie smiled so brightly, it seemed to Jack like he'd promised the boy a puppy or something. Nevertheless, Jack couldn't help but grin back in response.

"I'll see you around Jamie," he said in farewell, as Jamie leaned towards his bedside table to flick off the light.

"I'll meet you at the tree houses sometime," Jamie whispered back as Jack waved from the windowsill. Jack nodded once in acknowledgement before he was spiralling into the sky outside and disappearing from sight.

That was the second promise Jamie made to Jack. Even though he never spoke them, the words still lingered there, in the very brief silence. Something along the lines of _'I'm not going to forget'_. Sure enough, Jamie kept his word and he would continue to do so, right up until the time when the decision was taken out of his hands. But until then, Jamie made sure to mark the tree houses with a large X on a map he and Cupcake drew up in secret, while they had pretended to be reading in their first lesson on Monday.

The group had, of course, responded to Jamie's discovery and Jack's present with much enthusiasm. So much so, in fact, that Jamie had a difficult time convincing Claude not to abandon school halfway through the day in order to inspect their new secret hideout. He had, after all, described the cubbies with a large amount of detail and fervour – as much as he could convey through notes and whispered conversations in the back rows of English classes – and the group had been unable to resist the rising excitement over his words.

It stands to reason, that when they did finally catch their first glimpse of their private haven waiting for them over the hill, they were not disappointed.

Over the months that Jamie and his group inhabited the cubbies, small bits and pieces were frequently added to the interior to develop a sense of belonging. Cupcake had somehow single-handedly worked a very old, relatively small, and yet incredibly comfortable sofa into the cramped space of cubby number one. It took up half of the room but it was definitely worth it. The fold up table that had been used as Jack's shield had two rickety deck chairs added to it for 'fine dining' as Monty joked. Jamie hadn't quite understood him, since his friend was notorious for using more 'grown up' expressions than most of the kids their age, but Monty had just laughed not explained himself. The second cubby house became something of a storage space for their 'treasure'. Of course, they had located an old ice box in Jamie's garage and with the help of Jack, it never emptied. The group used it to store their ice creams in the summer and transport their ammunition in the winter. There was also a wall of precarious shelves loosely nailed to the wall to hold a seemingly never-ending supply of candy, soda, chocolate, and of course, apples.

On one particularly good day, Caleb had even stumbled across a hammock that had been left for the roadside pickup. Claude, as standing safety officer, had dubbed it '_totally fine, man'_ to use, and it now hung as a prized example of solidarity amongst the group, by indicating that should the need ever arise, there would be a bed – off sorts – for any one of them.

The pulley system, detachable bridge and flag set up had inevitably been included in the refurbishing and all three were used on a regular basis. The second lookout tower and pathway through the trees, though, stayed firmly on the 'possibly, maybe, someday to-do list' that Jamie kept tucked away inside his thoughts. He didn't think Monty was quite ready to break into his father's tool shed, and he wouldn't want his friend to get grounded for something so silly. Instead, they made do with the masterpiece already at their fingertips.

Of course, there were smaller touches to the cubbies, too. Especially _The Wall_, as Cupcake had named it. On the tree bark that made up one substantial corner in the second house, there were carvings from floor to approximate reaching height. In the bottom left, the original carving of a pirate grinning with a parrot on his shoulder was etched. The artist made sure to point out his skills with every visit, and despite Jack's constant pride, the group did not mind in the least. Especially since every time they showed him what they had added to the mural, he managed to pull an amazed expression and enthuse about the artistic skills of whoever had contributed.

No one was ever quite sure whether Jack's envy was real or not, since he certainly acted the part, but Jamie thought to himself that perhaps that was for the best. Monty was certainly no Da Vinci – a name he had learnt in school a few days previous.

Over time, the cubby houses grew to become a vital part of Jamie and his group's daily life and from the first day of November through to the last day of March, their ice box would, without fail, be filled to bursting with snowballs of every size and consistency, whether or not Jack himself was present.

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**A/N _ermahgurd, what's this? I am alive? I'm active once again? Heavens no! And so begins my decent into the RotG fandom. Anwho, this will be a...6 or 7 chapter fic, depending on the length of the installments I write. _**

**_On a side note, I have the feeling RotG is going to be hanging around in my inspiration space for a while, so if you're still with me after all these fandom changes, I salute you - you are amazing, and I hope you like Jack Frost :)_**


	2. Of Ice Skating and Chocolate

_**Jack be nimble**_

_**Jack be quick**_

_**Jack sent to hell **_

_**With a candle stick**_

On one of the coldest days of the year, seeing a group of six children heading tentatively towards the frozen lake on the edge of Burgess would not be considered the norm. When most residents in the small town would be huddled in their living rooms with hot chocolate and slippers, Jamie Bennett had more ambitious ideas. By preparing himself with three layers of clothing, two pairs of gloves and four pairs of socks, he was ready to face any cold wave Jack threw at him. He was accompanied by the group of friends who were beginning to be known as 'the gang' by a few of their fellow classmates. It was true enough that the ragtag bunch of kids, who had once incidentally saved the world from darkness and terror (with considerable help from the guardians), were nigh inseparable.

Everything they did was done as a unit. From homework to repainting Monty's fence, Claude, Cupcake, Jamie, Monty and Caleb came at it like a team. In this instance, they had decided that on what was generally considered to be Jack Frost's birthday, a day of ice skating would be an appropriate way to celebrate. They were hoping that the birthday boy himself would actually turn up, since they hadn't exactly been able to ask him personally, but Jamie was certain he would. Jack, despite his flighty nature, was oddly reliable for such a childish guardian.

"And you're _sure_ this ice is thick enough? I mean, you hear stories about kids like us who think it's all-"

"_Yes_, Monty, we're _sure_."

For the something-nth time since the gang left Claude and Caleb's house, Monty voiced his concerns, only to be swiftly reassured by Cupcake that no, he would not fall through the ice at this time during the season. It was halfway through January, for goodness sake!

With a grin, Caleb poked Monty in the back of the head and commented, "Stop worrying so much."

"Yeah, it'll take all the fun if we have to keep stopping to pluck up your courage," Claude agreed.

Jamie admitted silently that his oldest friend seemed to be acting more concerned than normal, but he was soon distracted by the sight of his sister absently wandering towards the main road. Sure, there wasn't a car in sight as the road was practically iced over, but he still suffered a mini-aneurism as he saw her foot hit the pavement.

"Sophie! Stop! That's the _main road!_"

He rushed forward, past where Monty was wringing his hands and grabbed Sophie's shoulder. She stumbled backwards and he breathed a sigh of relief. Cupcake gave him weird look over his panic, since there were absolutely no cars anywhere near, but he didn't care. Knowing his sister, whether or not there were cars didn't make a difference. She'd wander through a battlefield just to chase a butterfly.

"_Look_ before you cross, okay?" He insisted and Sophie just nodded with a toothy smile in response. Jamie sighed, knowing that his words would fly in one ear and out the other, when it came to Sophie.

Although, when Jamie looked across the road and saw their destination waiting patiently on the other side, he grew slightly impatient, himself.

"C'mon guys!" Caleb laughed, clapping Jamie on the shoulder as he rushed past. To his credit, Caleb did check both ways…he just did it halfway across the street. He was followed instantly by Cupcake and Claude who ran after him with whoops of laughter. The sight of the town's pond iced over spectacularly was one that inspired a lot of excitement. Especially since Jamie's ice skates had been collecting dust in the corner of his cupboard for a long time. He wasn't even sure if he remembered _how_ to skate. With the thought of what Jack would say to _that_ fresh in his mind, Jamie decided that quickly jamming as much practice in as he could before the winter spirit turned up was incredibly necessary.

"Coming!" He yelled, taking Sophie's hand and making a show of checking for cars before crossing. Next to him, Sophie had grabbed Monty's hand and was practically dragging the other boy with them despite Monty's obvious nervousness.

By the time the three of them reached the lake's edge, Claude was already taking hesitant steps on the ice and gaining confidence rapidly. With every meter he covered without falling, his smile grew bigger. Caleb was pulling on his second skate with fierce impatience, obviously wanting to be on the ice, showing up his brother. Cupcake seemed to be taking her time, in no hurry to skate, but she was nowhere near as bad as Monty. The boy was a mess – obviously torn between wanting to hang out with the group, but too scared that he was going to fall to an icy death. It seemed that Sophie was the one to make the decision for him.

She skipped the ice skates completely and dragged the two boys right onto the ice after her with a giggle. She had decided that chasing Claude was in her best interests and he started fleeing with a panicked look, not steady enough yet to bear the inevitable weight of Jamie's little sister on one of his hands. He started to head in the opposite direction of her, but in his panic, he forgot that simply moving his feet was not enough on ice and he ended up throwing himself off balance enough to fall flat on his back. By that time, Sophie had gained enough momentum to crash into him at full speed, and together, they went spinning across the ice in an untidy heap.

No one in the group could hide their laughter over the incident and by the time Jamie had gotten his amusement under control, Cupcake had gracefully skated over to help Claude and Sophie to their feet.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Claude snapped at his brother who was still rolling in the snow, roaring with laughter.

"You just got taken down by a _girl_," Jamie snickered, "and she hasn't even finished third grade."

"Hey, girls can be tough," Cupcake protested with a look that suggested Jamie should shut up immediately. That stopped his laughter since he remembered all too well the times that Cupcake proved how well she could take care of bullies. Especially the few times she'd helped Jamie out.

"Yeah, I just meant-"

Jamie was cut off by a very well placed snowball to the face.

The entire group went silent at that, and while Jamie clenched his eyes shut against the cold, he held his breath. He wiped his face off in excitement, just _knowing_ who threw that snowball.

"Don't let Tooth hear you saying stuff like that," Jack advised.

"Jack! You came-"

"You're here-!"

"Happy birthday!"

"How long have-"

The simultaneous greetings seemed to overwhelm the guardian since his eyes widened at the collective enthusiasm and he leaned back into a sitting position on his staff. He was perched in the centre of the pond and Claude was already skating unsteadily towards him with a wide smile. Caleb, having abandoned his attempt to figure out how his skates were strapped on, took up the challenge again with renewed vigour. Cupcake was following Claude with more grace than one would expect from her burly frame. Jamie took a moment to consider whether or not she'd ever had lessons. Then he shook his head to clear the random thoughts and set down where he stood on the ice to lace up his own skates. All the while, Jack welcomed the kids gathering around him.

"Happy birthday?" That's new," he commented while Claude tried to stop in the middle of the ice and failed miserably.

"Well we thought that being the spirit of winter and everything, your birthday would be the coldest day of the year," Monty explained, not daring to move just yet, in case the ice cracked like he feared.

Jack considered his words for a moment before nodding abruptly and announcing, "I like it!"

The group grinned collectively, glad that Jack agreed. Or course, his next words made them freeze up in surprise.

"Doesn't that mean I should be opening presents now?"

Jack glanced around at their surprised and guilty expressions with a hurt expression, before he grinned and laughed, "I'm kidding, guys! A day of fun in the snow is more than enough for me."

Jamie was ashamed to say that he let out a silent breath of relief at Jack's genuine acceptance at the idea of his only present being the responsibility of overseeing a group of children on their play date. If he tried this on his mother or father (despite their instance that _'no they don't need anything for their birthday, it's fine, really'_) he would definitely wind up being sent to bed without dessert. At _least_.

"Come on, I am _itching_ for a game of red rover," Jack laughed, taking off in the direction of the opposite shore, "and I'm willing to bet you're all in need of some high-speed chase practice."

Jamie laced his skates up with enthusiasm making his hands fumble with the cords. He couldn't wipe the smile off his face when he remembered that Jack _had_ turned up after all and that now he had an entire day to spend with the spirit of winter. He wouldn't normally be so pleased over that, but today seemed to be a little different. Of course, he'd always get excited when Jack stopped by (a frighteningly rare occurrence nowadays) but lately, it seemed to Jamie that he needed a little boost to work his friend up into the kind of childish enthusiasm that he still found naturally.

"Jaaaamie," Jamie was pulled from his pondering thoughts by his little sister's whining voice coming from his elbow. He glanced down to see her tugging on his sleeve with a pout. Her shoes were strewn near the snow bank marking the beginning of the pond and the end of stable ground, showing that she'd thrown them towards the shore already. The only problem was that Sophie hadn't exactly learnt how to tie her laces yet and her feet were probably freezing next to her ice skates. With a sigh, Jamie turned a temporary deaf ear to the laughter and mock-threats coming from the other side of the pond and looked down at his sister's shivering feet.

"Alright, alright," he sighed, reaching for her left ice skate, "remember now, Soph, we've done this a thousand times."

Jamie looked up at her to make sure she was listening before exaggerating his motions while commentating, "This one makes a bunny ear-"

"Bunny!"

"Yes, remember Bunny? One of his ears – see" Jamie made a twitching motion with the loop and could fight the grudging smile when Sophie clapped in laughter, "and then this one comes around the bunny ear and slips through the rabbit hole! See? Easy as pie!"

Sophie seemed to have lost track somewhere, since when she attempted to tie her right skate, she ended up making a large, rather untangle-able knot.

Jamie sighed again, "alright, let's go over this one more time…"

He repeated the same instructions, hoping that maybe _this_ time Sophie would listen, but he had no way of knowing, since the second he was done, his little sister shot off across the ice like a rocket. Sure, she fell over every few feet, but she was sure gaining a lot more distance than Jamie. That is, until he felt the wind suddenly increase and the ice under his feet slide by faster than he'd ever felt comfortable attempting before. He was halfway around the pond when he realised the pressure on his shoulders was not a violent death looming and boxing him in, but rather Jack's hands, steering him around corners and his friends like a pro.

The look of shock on his face must have been pretty obvious since every one of his friends chuckled or hid a grin as he passed them. Then he realised his mouth was hanging open and he shut it abruptly. Jack's laughter echoed from behind him and Jamie twisted his head so that he could see the boy guiding him.

"What are you doing?" He asked when Jack glanced down with a large smile on his face.

"You looked like you were learning to walk all over again! I thought you could do with some help."

"But you're flying! That's cheating!"

"Helping out a friend doesn't have an 'end game' – I _can't_ cheat in making sure you don't break your nose," Jack shot back without missing a beat, then he paused before adding, "plus, isn't it more _fun_ this way? If we were to gang up on that bunch, we would dominate in a game of tag."

Jamie considered Jack's words for a long moment before responding with a vehement, "Cheaters never prosper."

"Spoil sport," Jamie heard from somewhere just above his head, and then the hands on top of his shoulder disappeared and suddenly he was flying towards a snow bank at what was surely nothing less than ten miles per hour. He clenched his eyes shut and prepared for a violent end when his hand was caught and Jamie was spun in a large curve. His eyes shot wide and he found Cupcake's smiling expression attached to the hand that caught him. Then he continued down the line and saw that Claude was holding Cupcake's hand, and Monty was holding Claude's and Caleb was acting as the buffer between Monty and Sophie. Finally, Jack was on the end, twisting so that the line of squealing kids found themselves showing the slow motion arc of a whip. First, Jamie broke off again, followed by Cupcake and so forth, down the line until Jack was left spinning in a circle with a giggling Sophie clutching his leg for support.

Jamie's line of sight was cut off as he pitched head first into a mound of snow. Next to him, Caleb seemed to grasp his bearings a lot sooner than Jamie managed to, "Wow, dude that was _awesome_!"

"That was scary, man."

"Can we do it again?"

"I want to be on the end this time!"

Shouts were heard across the pond as the scattered kids gathered once more in the centre of the makeshift ice rink. Sophie was still firmly attached to Jack's person, but he had managed to pry her off of his calf and was allowing her to use his left hand as a balancing tool. She was gripping it in both hands and her feet were sliding in every direction. Jamie thought back to a clip he had once seen of a lamb first learning how to stand up, and he smiled.

As the group arranged themselves into another line, this time, Cupcake acting as the pivot point, Jamie wobbled across the ice towards his friends. Behind them, Jack had willingly ducked out of their second attempt at creating the 'whip' and was directing Sophie much like he had Jamie. Of course, this time he was tall enough to hold her hands outstretched from behind her, but the technique was the same. She seemed to have incurred the 'beginners speed' though, something which made Jamie both envious but a little smug about. Although his immediate reactions were interrupted by the expression he saw on Jack's face. Where Jamie had normally come to expect a beaming smile or carefree laughter, Jamie noticed something that looked dangerously close to what was either nausea, or Jack's version of sadness.

Jamie's attention was soon yanked back to the present at Caleb's shout, though, and he turned away from his sister's ice skating lesson at the question, "Come on Jamie! Are you up for a high-speed snow ball fight or what!?"

"You'll wish you hadn't challenged me, Caleb! You are going _down_!"

"Jamie – Jamie, man – that jump was _awesome_! I mean it looked a little painful, but it was _totally _worth it! You actually got some decent hang time! And for a second I thought maybe you were gonna take off…"

Jamie smiled again as he watched Jack restage Jamie's impact with the ground after a dangerous attempt at a jump, with his hands and loud sound effects. Egged on by Cupcake, Caleb and Jack, Jamie had managed to get one foot off the ground before landing in a very messy heap on the ice – and since it had also become something of a tradition whenever Jack became involved in a group outing, Jamie's left baby incisor had slid along the ground after him. His group had caught sight of the small amount of blood on the white surface and predictably, Monty nearly fainted, but the cheers from the rest of them assured Jamie that his ice skating antics would surely be added to the ongoing mural in the tree house. He had been carried off the ice like a war hero and showered with both praise (_That jump was _sick_ man_) and also a few half-hearted criticisms (_you could have _died).

Their outing had been called to a finish after that though, since the sun had already been sinking low on the horizon and Sophie was nearly falling asleep where she had perched on Jack's shoulders. Jack had found it kind of difficult to keep her balanced at first, but it soon turned out that Jamie's sister had a grip of iron, not just in her sleep, but when Jack decided to participate in a game of tag, even with a large disadvantage sitting comfortably behind his head. Sophie had even done a decent job of steering him, ignoring the pained winces he'd let slip when her tugs at his hair were a bit _too_ enthusiastic.

All in all, the trek home to the Bennett's was a weary, but satisfied stretch of sidewalk. Caleb and Claude branched off first, saying something about not realising how late it was and that their mother would skin them if they got home after their curfew. Monty just waved in farewell when they passed his street and wished Jack happy birthday again. Finally, when only Cupcake, Jack and the Bennett siblings were standing outside of Jamie's door, Cupcake seemed to realise that she'd missed her street and retreated sheepishly, waving goodbye until she reached the front gate. Jack watched her go with a smile – everyone in the group had grown up very sneakily. Including Jamie.

Once inside the Bennett's house, Jamie's mother had congratulated Jamie on his missing tooth, but she had made sure to remind him that knocking them out through such violent methods couldn't possibly be very good for his jaw. He had just nodded in agreement, promising his mother that, _'okay, I'll be more careful with my friends, I will – sure!'_. Sophie, having been passed into Jamie's arms from Jack's shoulders on their doorstep, tugged at her mother's skirt with an expression pleading for an early dinner. Jamie, too, was roped into a five o'clock meal since his eyes were drooping and he had school tomorrow.

Jamie had attempted to worm his way out of the room so that he could let Jack know that he wouldn't be able to escape again until after school the next day, but by the time Jamie managed to poke his head out into the living room, the other boy had disappeared. Jamie had eaten his meal in a sullen silence at the idea that his big birthday celebration for Jack had ended in such a way, but he'd resigned himself to the promise that he'd make it up to him next time there was a few hours to play outside.

He had been fully prepared to go to sleep early – maybe sneak a few hours of reading in too, if he was being honest, however when Jamie had opened his door to his room and found a fort made from pillows and blankets rather than his normal bed, desk, chair and bookcase, all thoughts of sleep fled.

He'd not been able to see over the mound of pillows sitting on his bed, and there was an odd looking shape protruding from the foot of his mattress. The crooked top of the pole suggested Jack had used his staff as a tool for building this particular cubby. It was being used to prop the sheet up as a roof over the bed below and Jamie had a sneaking suspicion that Jack was inside, preparing to boast over his ingenious design. Jamie had to admit, though, that he'd have to agree if that was the case. The fort looked incredibly inviting.

"Jack?" He asked with very badly suppressed excitement bubbling over into his voice, "What is all this?"

"Come and see," was the cryptic reply.

Without hesitating, Jamie bolted over to the bed and wriggled through the gap between the pillows and the sheet. When he poked his head inside, he grinned at Jack, who was lounging casually against the headboard. He smiled back and tucked his feet up so that Jamie had room to sit comfortably on the bed as well. It seemed Jack had managed to dig out Jamie's old torch from his desk drawer and was using it to light the 'cave'. He was making shadow puppets against the white sheet-roof when Jamie joined him and the boy managed to catch the end of what looked like a rabbit's violent struggle against an alligator. Oddly enough, the bunny managed to win and even come out perfectly intact.

"Do you like it?" Jack asked with a gesture around at the interior.

"Yes!" Jamie whispered animatedly, nodding fervently, "this is so cool! Why did you- never mind. More importantly, when did- no, that's not important either. I know!"

Jamie wriggled back out from beneath the sheet and tiptoed towards the door. His mother and father probably assumed he was going straight to bed, since he'd been dead on his feet when he and Sophie had arrived home, but Jack's creation had breathed some new life into his weary mood. He glanced back at the fort to see Jack peering curiously out, his head lying flat on the mattress in an effort to see through the pillows and sheets. Jamie held a finger up in the universal symbol for '_give me a moment_' before darting silently out the door and down the hallway.

When he returned, his arms were laden with bowls and packets of every kind of snack and candy imaginable. Well…to an extent. His parents only stocked the kitchen with so many sweets that would 'rot his teeth'. But he had enough to satisfy every childish craving that he felt would soon become impossible to ignore. That seemed to happen a lot around Jack, he'd realised. When he'd re-entered the room, Jack had greeted him with a cheerful whoop and made space for him to clamour into the cubby by holding up the sheet.

"I got everything I could see. Do you like Hershey's kisses?"

"I only like him as a friend."

"_Jack!_ You know what I mean."

Jack laughed at his own wit and relented with a shrug, "I've never tried them. Are they any good?"

"Oh my gosh, yes! Here! Have one!"

Once Jamie had surrounded Jack with a small mound of junk food that he just _had_ to try, the two of them began to recall the day's events.

"I mean I was _actually convinced_ that you'd picked something up from that last time we flew."

"It wasn't that impressive," Jamie denied Jack's enthusiastic praise despite his proud grin.

"I wouldn't be so sure – you didn't see Cupcake's expression. Her jaw nearly hit the ground," Jack laughed as he unwrapped yet another chocolate, "I think Monty nearly feinted too. When he saw your landing. Did I mention – _ouch_?"

Jamie chuckled at the range of expressions that crossed Jack's face as he talked. They varied from wide-eyed sincerity to a smirk when he mentioned Jamie's only female friend's approval. He took another spoonful of ice cream – which was being kept nice and chilled against Jack's side – and pointed to the mound of wrappers in front of his friend. In an attempt to change the subject to something that didn't remind Jamie that now he was missing _two_ teeth, he asked curiously, "You obviously like the Hershey's. And you really haven't had them before now?"

Jack shook his head and swallowed the mouthful he was chewing before answering with a cheery, "nope. I haven't eaten anything for…" Jack paused while he did some mental calculations, "about seventy years or something. Do these come in different flavours, by any chance?"

Jamie gaped at Jack, trying to process that last tidbit of information, "What?"

"Different flavours. You know, like white chocolate? Or strawberry, maybe? Oh- oh do they make mint? 'Cause mint is-"

"No, no, no – you haven't eaten for _seventy years_?"

"Oh that."

Jamie shut his mouth slowly, ready to beat some answers out of Jack if the spirit dared to leave it at '_oh that_'. He was not disappointed, though.

"Well, I don't exactly have to eat to stay alive like you guys. I mean, I _can_ and I can taste things, but I just don't need to. Manny brought me back with flesh and blood, but I guess when magic gets involved things like eating and sleeping just kinda get all muddled up. I can still sneeze though! That's one thing that I always found weird. I mean – what is sneezing, anyway?"

"You…" Jamie was dimly aware of the ice cream on his spoon melting and sliding dangerously close to the edge, but his main concerns were focused elsewhere. Namely, the boy – was he technically a boy? Did that only count for humans? _Was _he human? – sitting across from him, licking the wrappers of the chocolate in an effort to make sure not a speck went to waste, "You don't…need to eat. Okay. Or sleep?"

Jack shook his head.

"But you still breathe?"

Jack nodded, already working on his second wrapper.

"And you have, like, flowing blood and stuff?"

"Yep. It's super cold though. I think. Last time I scratched myself on a tree branch it was cold, but that might have just been my skin."

Jamie leaned back onto his hands and breathed out in a whistle, still trying to process. He didn't know why he was so surprised, though. When he thought back over all the times he spent with Jack, there wasn't any instance where Jack ate a single item or slept a wink. Then again, Jamie didn't exactly spend his time tracking his friend's movements for signs of normal human needs and behaviours. In his mind, all the times he didn't see Jack eating didn't mean that Jack _didn't_ eat. It just seemed like Jack wasn't hungry. That had made much more sense than a friend who didn't need basic sustenance.

"Do you want those?" Jack broke through Jamie's thoughts with a gesture towards his share of the chocolates.

"Huh? Oh – yeah. No, you take them," Jamie offered the bowl up with a absent nod, "I mean, you should make up for seventy years of no Hershey's, but I don't think we have enough in the house."

Jack laughed and Jamie chuckled weakly in return, his head still spinning at the thought of not tasting his favourite dinner for seventy years. He slowly began to regain the ability to uphold his end of the conversation as surprise gave way to curiosity. Jamie poked and prodded Jack for every bit of weird or even slightly irregular trivia, eventually leading to an in depth discussion about the 'duties' of a guardian.

"So you really don't have to do anything but make it snow?" Jamie asked in disbelief.

"Pretty much. It's great! I mean, every once in a while I have to reign in a rouge blizzard or redirect a hail storm down to Antarctica, but all in all, I just relax," Jack replied with a shrug.

"What about protecting children?"

"Ever since Pitch got thrown down his own well, there hasn't been much to defend you guys against," Jack reasoned, "Sandy's been dolling out some of his best works, but there hasn't been much danger. Frankly, I feel that we should make the most of it by kicking back but you met North and Bunny. They're _all_ work, no play types. And don't get me started on Tooth!"

Jamie giggled at Jack's mock grimace when he mentioned the Tooth Fairy. He had a faint idea about Tooth's dedication to her work from some of Jack's offhand comments in the past. Judging by those standards, the Tooth Fairy was probably more of a workaholic than his dad!

"Man, I bet Monty would _love_ to hear this. I think he has a little bit of a crush on Tooth. You should have heard him babbling after you guys took down Pitch."

"Oh really?" Jack sat up a bit straighter with a wicked gleam in his eyes that suggested mischief.

"No, no, _no_! I know that look! Don't you dare mess with him!" Jamie started, waving his hands in denial, "I asked him about it and you should have seen how red he turned! You _can't _start anything over this!"

Jack slouched back down against the headboard and sighed melodramatically, "fine, but that would've been so much fun. Tooth hasn't been out in the field for _ages_. It would have been funny to see her reaction if she found out one of the first kids she's made contact with in four hundred and something years was smitten."

"Yeah, but Monty would have killed me," Jamie grumbled.

"Aren't you guys a bit young for crushes and stuff, though?" Jack asked after a pause, "I mean, shouldn't your main concerns be cooties?"

Jamie snorted and shook his head, "You've been away for a while Jack. That kind of stuff is all Claude ever talks about. And Cupcake blushes every time he gets near her."

Jack let out a low whistle and nodded his head solemnly, "that's serious stuff, that is."

"_Jack_, I'm being serious!" Jamie whined hitting him with a pillow. From underneath, Jack laughed again, but he stopped short when Jamie just glared somewhere next to his shoulder.

"You _are _being serious," Jack repeated without the mocking tone this time, "But surely that isn't enough to have you all mopey. Is it?"

"No," Jamie sighed, "It's not that really. Just…it kind of reminds me that we're getting older and the other day when Claude mentioned you guys, these kids in my class overheard and started calling him names because of it. Since then, he hasn't even mentioned you or North or anyone until today."

"What? You guys are getting picked on for believing in us?" Jack asked, sitting up a little straighter with indignation, "that's low."

"It's not that I care about – the kids doing it are just idiots. I don't care what they say – I just don't think that my friends are okay with the name calling and stuff. Nowadays it seems like they think of you guys as…I don't know…cousins or something? You know - how you only see them at family gatherings or when they turn up unexpectedly. It…bothers me."

Jamie fidgeted with the hem of his pyjama pants, suddenly wishing that he and Jack were talking about something entirely different. Like the kinds of animals that Jack had in his keeping at the South Pole or his latest plans for the weather over Christmas. Not his innermost worries and doubts.

From above his line of sight, Jack cleared his throat awkwardly and shifted his position on the bed before starting hesitantly, "Ah, listen Jamie…You, um…your friends don't have to make – no that's not what I'm trying to say. Erm…even if they stop believing in us, it doesn't mean you have to. That's not to say I expect you to believe for your whole life, but I…ah…um…" Jack trailed off into a jumbled mess of single syllables.

"It's okay, Jack, I know what you mean. I'll probably grow up and stop believing eventually, but if I do, I want to do it at my own pace. It's not like I'll just flip a switch or something. Besides, how can I stop believing when you visit me every other month?" Jamie lifted his head to smile reassuringly up at Jack, but found the other boy gazing sympathetically down at him in return, "What? What is it?"

"It's nothing…" Jack began, but soon shook his head as though he was starting over, "Just don't put real life on hold, okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, you're probably too young now anyway. I just mean that the guardians and I should be a second priority – after all that school and friendships and homework and boring stuff. Do you get it?"

Jamie shot Jack a somewhat confused expression, but the other boy didn't elaborate any further. He just shrugged and offered Jamie one of the last two Hersheys. Jamie took it with a smile and pretty soon, they had moved on to discussing Jamie's upcoming science project and all the possibilities that Jack could provide. Of course, the more pressing matter of their previous topic was soon swept away with the junk food and warmth in the cubby (despite the personification of cold weather sitting across from him), and when Jamie finally drifted off to sleep, his thoughts were filled with ice skating and chocolate.

_**This road is now my only friend**_

_**It welcomes me through straights and through bends**_

_**But no matter how long I stay**_

_**It'll never know my name**_


	3. Of Gifts and Unintentional Realisations

"What about…more towards the left? No! Not that way the _other_-"

"This _is_ left, idiot-"

"I meant my left! And don't call me tha-"

"Why didn't you _say_ 'your' left, then?"

"…am _not_ an idiot thank you very much-"

"Oh, that does look better!"

Jamie uncrossed his arms to give Jack a thumb up in approval. The guardian was hovering neatly above the archway, holding the end of a large banner which had been personalised specifically for today's celebration. It read, in sparkling gold, '_Happy 10__th__ birthday, Sophie!_' and with an efficient twist of his wrist, Jack pinned it to the wall above the arch under a thin layer of frost. Jack beamed smugly down at Jamie at his inventiveness, and Jamie rolled his eyes.

"That's not going to hold it for very long, you know," he advised knowingly.

"Are you kidding? That's some A grade ice up there. In the right conditions, that could last centuries," Jack shot back, touching back down onto the floorboards. He shoved his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and twisted, mid step, to look up at his handiwork.

"These aren't exactly the right conditions though, are they?" Jamie retorted with a huff, "Mid-Autumn isn't the best time for ice on the walls, Jack."

The guardians smug smile was wiped away and he glared in mock indignation, "I'm hurt, J. I thought you appreciated the delicate, winter art of freezing everything in reach-"

"Including fences-"

"And the pavement under your feet-"

"The couches that I'm sitting on-"

"Flies in mid air-"

"Don't forget the dog food that I'm trying to pour-"

"Your homework-"

"That I was _trying to do_!"

"And elves-"

"And- wait, what?" Jamie was brought up short at Jack's last input and he looked incredulously at the guardian, "Elves?"

"Yeah, what about them? Not the brightest things but at least they're beginning to accept that I don't want their damn clothing which is-"

"Elves are real?" Jamie asked excitedly, his face lighting up like it did the very first time he'd seen the group of guardians standing in his bedroom. Of course, Jack can recall the moment of Jamie's realisation that no, his belief _wasn't_ for nothing. Jamie himself didn't know that Jack had been there that night, though, and the winter spirit felt no inclination to fill him in. He decided that maybe some things just weren't that important…and _some_ things were – like confirming the existence of elves, for example.

"Of course! Who do you think does all the baking up at Santoff Claussen?"

"Whoa! Hold on – the _baking_? Don't they make the presents for Sa-"

"I know! That's what I said!" Jack exclaimed, glad to know that he wasn't the only one in the world confused by the job of the tiny companions to North. How the traditional connection between the tiny creatures and the creativity of Christmas was original established was lost on Jack. If anyone had actually seen or met one of the things, he was sure that giving them credit for even a tied bow would be quite the stretch of the imagination, "But they're not very intelligent - pretty stupid, really."

"That's so cool. Are they short with pointy ears? And do they wear red and green with striped stockings?"

"Yes, and no. The height and ear malformation – yes. The clothing….not so much. North wanted a new-age style, I think."

"Whoa…" Jamie breathed out with a gleam in his eye that Jack only saw when he was talking about some kind of new legend he'd stumbled onto through books or computers.

"Maybe sometime North will let you see them," Jack teased, nudging Jamie on the shoulder with his elbow and Jamie whipped his head up to stare hopefully at the guardian.

"Really? You think he might do that!? You think he'd let me visit the _North Pole_?! For _real_?! You're not kidding, are you? If you are-"

"Hey, hey, hey," Jack raised his hands to chest height and backed away in the universal 'slow down' body language, "I said _maybe_, kiddo, North doesn't let just anyone into his workshop!"

When Jamie's face fell in slight disappointment, Jack couldn't help but add, "But being the kid who helped save the world, I think I might be able to swing that…my standing on the naughty list may have to suffer a little, though…"

Jamie's whoop of delight cut off Jack's mumble, and the guardian smiled as Jamie punched the air in celebration. Jack was content to just wait for the victory dance to start up which meant he was caught very off guard when Jamie took a step forward and hugged him so intensely, Jack knew one of his ribs had cracked under Jamie's pointy chin.

"Whoa, man-"

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Jamie chanted like a mantra. He squeezed Jack once more before his arms unwound from where they pinned Jack's elbows to his sides and he took a step back, "I mean, if you manage to convince Sa-North. No big deal, really," Jamie continued, scratching a point on his chin with incredibly forced nonchalance that would fool nobody.

Jack stood silently for a moment, still trying to get his chest to inflate back to normal size and Jamie had just managed to reign in his excitement. He was motioned for the two of them to head towards the kitchen and Jack fell into step beside him.

"I need to check on the cake and make sure Abby hasn't gotten her teeth into it."

"Seems like a big responsibility – running a ten year old's birthday party," Jack observed, lifting himself up to sit on the end of the kitchen bench. Jamie nodded as dug out the blue icing from the pile of cake decorating supplies on the other end of the bench, and touched up the 'O' in '_Sophie_'.

"Mum doesn't think I can do it, but dad says that it's a good opportunity for me. I don't know what for, but it'd be better than sitting down with a bunch of Sophie's friends to play _pin the tail on the donkey_."

"Pin the what, where?" Jack asked.

"You know – everyone has a 'tail' and they have to stick it onto the big picture of a donkey missing a tail? When they're blindfolded…you haven't heard of it?"

Jack shook his head in amazement at Jamie's complete acceptance of this strange tradition being considered 'normal', "What's the point of it?"

"The winner is the one who gets closest to where the tail should be."

"…What do they win?"

Jamie paused, stopping his hand just shy of the surface of Sophie's cake, with a candle still clutched in his fingers, "I…don't know. Nothing, I guess?"

Jack just snorted and drummed his fingers against the counter, "Sounds weird to me," he commented.

"Now that I think about it, it kind of is," Jamie agreed.

There was a comfortable silence following that, and despite Jack's best efforts, his thoughts kept returning to Jamie's expression when he had been explaining his parent's thoughts on the matter of 'running a birthday party'. Sure, he was fourteen now – a whole five years older than when he helped to defeat Pitch, but in Jack's mind, Jamie should still be sitting with _his_ friends, waiting for the picture of a donkey with no tail to be brought out and bubbling with just as much excitement as he showed when speaking of elves and the North Pole. He may have gotten a little taller – tall enough to fit his chin over Jack's shoulder when he had hugged him before (no, _that_ hadn't gone unnoticed by any means) – but his cheeks were still puffy and his nose refused to remain clear for more than a week during winter.

All of these little things, while comforting to Jack by reminding him that time didn't pass as quickly as he feared, caused a strange disappointment that left the guardian stranded in a place that he'd really rather not be left in. He didn't know why but whenever he saw Jamie sitting by torchlight, struggling to solve for _X_ when _13 + X = 62_, Jack felt as though something was off. Nothing terribly wrong, but it felt like there was a tiny itch in the middle of his back and no matter how much he twisted, there was a still the nagging answer he couldn't reach.

When the hard set of Jamie's jaw as he purposefully smoothed over a patch of white icing with a butter knife grew too distracting, Jack decided that Jamie was much more fun when his eyes were wide with amazement and a constant slew of questions on his lips.

…And Jack had just thought of the perfect way to achieve that.

"You know….to get to Santoff Claussen you'd probably have to ride in his sleigh, since the terrain is-"

There was a clang as Jamie dropped the knife onto the counter but it was covered immediately by the shout of –

"_Are you serious_!?"

* * *

Jack smiled at the giggles and squeals of delight echoing from in front of him. There was a quite restless audience splayed out in front of his 'stage' (which doubled as a sand pit when he had no use for it). As the reigning birthday girl, Sophie was situated in the front row, dead centre. Her friends, to Jack's surprise, could not only see him, but found immense enjoyment in his enactment of Sophie's favourite movie of all time – Beauty and the Beast. The laughter whenever Jamie tried to imitate a monstrous beast (and fell quite short) was definitely worth the theatrics.

"…and this beast was _sooooo _ugly that when he looked into a mirror – it would _crack_!" Jack exclaimed. He widened his eyes meaningfully at Jamie and the boy glared back. His irritation was damped a little by the hedge clippings he wore like a mane, but Jack understood that he would rather be playing a different part in their little play. Jack motioned with his head towards the observing group of ten year olds and widened his eyes even further with the silent plea of _'come ooooonnnnnn_'. Jamie relented with a sigh and turned to the audience to roar and stamp his feet like an angry bull. Of course, this spurred on even more shrieks and laugher since no one in their right mind – no matter the age – could be even a little bit scared of a fourteen year old with leaves for hair and gangly arms resembling nothing of claws.

"_Raaaawwrrrr_! I am a hideous _beast_!" Jamie growled as he approached the front row of Sophie's guests. The bravest of the group reached out to tug at one of the branches on Jamie's head but he managed to dodge the hand and he roared again, this time managing not to sound like a month old puppy…but only just.

"And this monster lived _all_ by himself because everyone was scared of him," Jack narrated from the side of the pit. Jamie shuffled across the stage with slumped shoulders and exaggerated sadness, "But even though he was _really_ ugly, all the beast _really _wanted…was a friend."

A chorus of 'aww's' and coos rose from the audience and Jamie wiped away a fake tear and sniffled quite dramatically.

"So one day the big ugly beast decided that he'd make a friend one way or another. So he went into the town and kidnapped the prettiest girl in the entire village!"

At this point, Jack decided that it was time to step into character. He stuck a hand on his hip, flipped his imaginary hair over his shoulder and strutted across the stage.

"I'm Belle," he started, pitching his voice higher than what could be considered comfortable in any way, "and I love to read, and take care of my dad because he's old and did I mention read?"

"You!" Jamie yelled, interrupting Jack with an attempt at a 'fearsome growl', "Come with me!"

"Oh no!" Jack exclaimed, fanning himself in a very dramatic manner, "I would never go with you! You're too ugly!"

Jamie glared at Jack again, but he received nothing more than a mischievous gleam in the other's eye for his trouble. If there was one non-supernatural talent Jack could boast of, it would be his ability to stay in character.

"I want you to come and live with me in my castle!" Jamie growled and Jack made a show of warding him off and raising the back of his hand to his forehead in the socially accepted sign for 'oh heavens no'.

"Nooooooo," he called and with a little help from the breeze, Jack boosted himself into the air in time for it to seem like Jamie had enough muscle to lift him cleanly off the ground. The audience gasped as they were so involved in the performance, they seemed to have forgotten about Jack's special powers. Jamie had too, it appeared as his mouth dropped and a surprised expression fixed itself to his face. Then Jack prodded him on the arm under his shoulders and Jamie snapped back into character. He growled, and snarled, and stomped around the sand pit, all the while, Jack barely restrained his laughter at the sight of the boy. His surprise over suddenly finding Jack sitting comfortably in the air in front of his chest still hadn't died down completely, so every time he tried to be threatening it came off as though Jamie was a very frustrated week-old kitten.

The performance of Beauty and the Beast, as performed by Jack and Jamie, seemed to be quite the hit with Sophie and her friends, since the normally rambunctious children managed to sit through the performance without so much as a toilet break. When Jack broke the 'monsters' curse with a quick peck on the forehead the squeals of '_cooties!_' was deafening, but neither actors seemed to mind much, since it just meant that the group's attention was wholly on the 'play'. Jack managed to stay in character (with the exception of when Jamie caught his toe on a bump and ended up with a mouthful of sand) impeccably and Jamie grew to accept his fate as the 'beast' about halfway through the performance when he realised that he could 'accidentally' stomp across Jack's unshod toes without anything seeming amiss.

When Jamie and Jack clasped hands to bow in sync (Jack with a sweeping hand gesture across his torso and Jamie with a facial expression that suggested Jack ought to remove his head from specific places where light did not reach) the party members did not clap and cheer like a normal audience, but rather, squealed, jumped up and down and attempted to climb the two boys like jungle gyms. It wasn't the customary reaction but Jack found that he appreciated it more…at least, until one of Sophie's friends accidentally yanked a large portion of his hair and one stepped painfully on his foot without noticing. He winced when the kid's elbow in his shinbone twisted a little but he internalised the pain and struggled through it to sweep the birthday girl off her feet and twirl in a large circle with Sophie giggling all the while.

"Here's the real star," Jack announced, calling the attention of Jamie and most of the party goers, "wouldn't you say it's about time those presents got opened?"

"Yes! Yes! Present time!" Sophie cheered, clapping and running off towards the house when Jack set her down on the ground. The group of friends followed her enthusiastically and Jack silently apologised to the group of adults that were sitting at the dining room table with no inkling of the excitement contained in the group of rowdy children fast approaching. When the last kid had crossed into the house, Jack grinned and turned to Jamie.

"Well they seemed to enjoy that. Good thinking with the hedge-mane thing. _Very_ scary."

Jamie laughed and gestured to the old sweatshirt that Jamie had tied around Jack's waist as a 'skirt', "that was some nice improvisation, I think."

Jack nodded as he unfastened the knot. He handed it back to Jamie with a very sincere, "You make a frightening villain, Jamie Bennett."

Jamie grinned back, "And you make a lovely maiden, Jack Frost."

Jack tried to scowl at him but he couldn't keep up the pretence for very long. Only minutes ago, he'd been speaking in a falsetto and popping his hip at every opportunity was still too vivid in his mind. Frankly, it was rather hilarious…in a very demeaning kind of way. Jamie's imitation of the terrible monster was awful, but Jack would hazard a guess that the kid had done a better job at that than Jack had at being a girl.

"The loveliest," Jack agreed with another hair flick and a high-pitched warble.

Jamie's guffaws were masked by the sound of his mother calling for him from inside the house. The boy grimaced up at Jack since they both knew that the group inside knew nothing of tact or subtlety when it came to hiding their fondness for the guardian. If Sophie and her friends began to enthuse about their new friend Jack when there was a glaring lack of snow on the ground…well it would be better for everyone if the kids didn't have to deal with secrecy.

"It's alright Jamie. You should get going. Parties don't run themselves, you know," Jack laughed and added, "And isn't there a donkey sorely missing his tail somewhere?"

Jamie smiled in response, "Thanks Jack. For helping out, I mean. I'm not the best story teller around…"

"You can say that again, kiddo," Jack laughed, remembering back to the time he'd intruded upon Sophie's bed time story while the Bennett adults had been out to dinner. Jamie's retelling had fallen quite short of what Jack deemed 'acceptable enthusiasm'.

"Hey! I'm not _that_ bad-"

"I don't know Jamie, you're pretty rusty. Especially the voices-"

"Just because you can imitate any accent. Why is that, anyway?"

"It's _all_ in the vocal chords-"

"It's not like I don't _try_…"

"You just lack natural talent."

"Yeah, yeah. Alright, I suppose I am pretty terrible," Jamie admitted with a sigh and a mock pout. There was a short silence as Jack came to an abrupt halt, his witty response failing on his tongue at the sudden 'victory'. Then he was struck with a slight uncertainty – not quite sure if he'd actually hurt Jamie's feelings or not.

"I, ah…I mean, it's all about practise, J. Just…read to Soph more, or something, yeah?"

Jamie's mournful expression disappeared in an instant and Jack knew he'd been duped. He didn't mind too much though. As soon as Jamie's mouth opened to say something more, his mother called out once again and her voice was accompanied by multiple agreements from what sounded like a small army of impatient, ten year old girls.

"I suppose that's your cue," Jack nodded towards the house and Jamie's expression soured.

"Alright. Time to head in," he muttered, "I'll see you around, Jack. Okay?"

"Sure thing," the guardian agreed. As Jamie turned to join the party, Jack couldn't help but call out, "Save me some cake, kiddo!"

Jamie paused where he was opening the door and he turned around to flash Jack a thumbs up in assent. When the screen door clicked into place after the boy, Jack finally turned away from the sounds of streamers and a chorus of 'happy birthday' sung by very out of tune and very shrill voices. He lifted off the ground to float seamlessly towards the roof and landed, footfalls muffled by the chatter within the house.

* * *

"Ja-mi-e!"

The boy shot upright in a combination of surprise at the sudden call and pain when a knee dug painfully into a place where knees ought not to be dug.

"Get u-u-up, slee-py he-eh-ead!"

Sophie punctuated each of her syllables with an incessant bounce in place on Jamie's stomach and unfortunate lower extremities. His eyes bulged when she managed to crush his dreams of _ever_ having kids of his own, but at her excited squeal and the punctured ear drum he got for the trouble soon made him realise maybe that wasn't the smartest move for his health and hearing.

"Okay, okay," he wheezed, shoving her off onto the foot of his bed with one hand and shielding the most painful part of himself with the other. Sophie ignored his rude response by rolling completely off the side of the bed, clawing her way to her feet and slipping and sliding until she stood in the doorway to his room.

"Mum says you need food now then school!" She yelled again, obviously excited to be taking up what was considered her mother's job in waking up the sleeping Jamie and ensuring a decent breakfast. The Bennett's mother had, unfortunately, come down with a rather nasty cold recently which meant the early mornings she had insisted upon and full English breakfasts waiting for the two children were temporarily on hold until her nose stopped running and the headaches receded. Until then, though…

"Come ooooonnnnn, Jamie! I'm hu-ngry!"

Sophie continued whining all the way down the hall and into the dining area and right up until Jamie placed an only slightly burnt piece of toast in front of her. The butter was still melting in a giant glob in the centre Sophie looked at it distastefully.

"What about bacon?" She asked with a face filled with longing – longing Jamie related to only too well.

"Takes too long, Soph," he sighed, sitting down with his own breakfast, "we gotta start walking really soon. Are you dressed for school?"

He asked, only because Sophie had been known for turning up at school dressed in her pyjamas every once in a while. How she managed to sneak past their mother in fairy wings and fake tiaras, he would never know.

"Yes! Let's go! Let's go, let's go, let's g-"

"Eat first," Jamie insisted, pointing at her toast wearily and running a hand through his hair. While managing to bring enthusiasm and optimism to almost every aspect of his life, Jamie had never mastered the art of mustering more than the very basic energy levels in the morning. His sister seemed to be constantly on overdrive, and he reasoned that maybe she had stolen his share in the genetic pool.

"Eat, eat, eat," Sophie repeated absently, picking the crusts off her bread and folding the entire piece in half then half again, like a piece of paper.

It only took a few minutes for the two siblings to finish up and prepare for school and Jamie ducked his head into his parents room on the way out.

"Leaving now, mom. We'll see you this afternoon."

"Are you…_ah choo!_ – waiting for Soph after school?"

"Yes, mom-"

"And make sure you avoid Pickles Street! The ice has gotten out of-"

"I know mo-"

"And you can stop for a hot chocolate or something, just be home before-"

"Before dark – I know, mom," by the time he managed to get a word in, Jamie had already left her room and was making his way down the hall, continuing the conversation at a yell.

"Bye mom!"

The sound of Jamie closing the door on her reply was muffled by the fresh snow that had fallen not two days previous. Jamie was still ecstatic over the early arrival of winter but unlike the theories held by the adults in his life, his joy was not over snowball fights and hot chocolate – thought they did make up a great part of it. No, he was much more partial to the individual he'd be involved with during those times.

Jack Frost had arrived early after disappearing during Sophie's birthday party and not returning until the previous week. He'd announced himself with a handful of snow down Jamie's jacket when the boy wasn't paying attention (_and why would he be on the lookout_, Jamie had argued, _when at the time snow hadn't been seen for months!)_ and from then on, Jack had alternated between crowding Jamie's room, front yard and the gang's cubbies, and…well Jamie wasn't actually quite sure what it was that Jack did when he wasn't busy making snowmen and trouble. All those months ago, when the subject of Jack's guardianship had been brought up under blankets, Jamie hadn't gotten much more than an unintentionally cryptic reply of '_nothing more than what I did before_' which of course, explained next to nothing since Jack's past had been a topic avoided like the plague. Again, Jamie hadn't the faintest idea why, but Jack's elation over finding someone who could see him spoke volumes in itself.

"Jamie! My man!"

Jamie looked up from the sidewalk at the sound of Caleb's yell and found the twins approaching from the direction of their street. Sophie was content to ignore them, chasing after a particularly large bug in bounds along the gutter.

"Did you manage to get down the English homework from yesterday, Jams?" Claude asked, obviously panicked.

"Uh, yeah, I think so. It's probably all wrong, but you can copy if you wan-"

"Oh dude, you just saved my _life_! Ms Dobbs would have _skinned_ me if I forgot again."

"How come you keep forgetting? Don't you have time when you get home?" Jamie asked, falling into step with the two other boys while fishing out his English book from his bag. When he received a reply in the form of Caleb guffawing and Claude blushing to the roots of his hair, Jamie gave the two a questioning look.

"Lover boy is too busy making kissy faces nowadays," Caleb crooned, clasping his hands in front of him and batting his eye lashes like some cheesy, love struck girl.

"Am not!" Claude retorted, the redness of his face doing nothing for his argument.

Jamie choked in surprise, not expecting the answer he got, but Caleb went on, "You are too! Imagine my surprise, J, my man, when I pick up the phone to call Monty about his comics and I hear _'ooooh Claude, I loooooove you'_" at this point, Caleb pitched his voice uncomfortably high and Jamie laughed at the comical genius that was a fifteen year old's sense of humour, "and _then_, what to my wondering ears did I hear but _'I know, baby, I looooooooove you too, honey bunny-kins_'"

By this time, Claude had stalked ahead of the two, taken Sophie's hand and tried to appear as though the need assist Jamie's sister across the road was anything but convenient. Jamie was nearly crying with laughter, both over Caleb's impersonations and the thought of his friend acting so cheesy.

"Seriously though," Caleb whispered once Claude and Sophie were a safe distance ahead, "it's really _all_ he talks about now. If he's not with Cupcake, he's telling me about how she found this really funny show on T.V and if he's not _talking_ about her then he's eating something! There's only so much food in the house, Jams!"

Jamie snorted in laughter at Caleb's desperate expression.

"Surely he isn't _that_ bad," Jamie commented, rolling his eyes.

"You don't have to live with it, man. I swear, he used to have, like, hobbies and stuff. Now that Romeo has started going steady with his _Juliette_, it's like nothing else has ever mattered."

Jamie laughed, since that's what best friends were entitled to do, but something about Caleb's irritated grumblings stuck with him, and, like an incredibly annoying mosquito buzzing in his ear, Jamie couldn't help but mull over the other boy's words all the way to school and through most of the day. How could someone spend so much time thinking about another person? The idea was just absurd. Jack often said the cure for a lovesick heart was a snowball through the window, but Jamie had never really understood what he meant. He always thought falling in love would be a good thing. Not something that needed the word 'sick' tacked on to the end. While Claude's attachment to Cupcake seemed comical at the moment, Jamie supposed that if he really was so infatuated with her, maybe the other boy was just lucky – not an idiot, like his twin had accused.

As he watched Cupcake impeccably fold another torn-out corner from her notebook with rather obvious hearts drawn in pink pen, Jamie couldn't help but wonder what it would be like on the receiving end of such care and attention. Not because of family ties or because it was his birthday. Genuine affection.

Some might have considered his ignorance a little sad, but Jamie didn't care. He often found himself wondering if he'd ever have the chance to unfold the tiny, secret note, read words bursting with adoration and then smile secretively behind his hand. Claude seemed to have mastered the art of landing a scrunched up love letter on Cupcake's desk from the back row with one throw that his baseball teacher would praise, had he been on the field but Cupcake preferred the method of '_pass this along_' – to trapeze her words past every person between her and Claude with nothing but trust stopping them from becoming privy to private conversations. Jamie shook his head in exasperation, knowing that come next morning, Claude wasn't going to have the faintest idea about what they were studying now. His thoughts were filled to bursting point with scrawled hearts and Cupcake.

Jamie didn't see any of the other kids in his class acting like those two. He didn't even know if this was normal. Like almost every other inquiry he felt was better left to those without connections to his peers, Jamie toyed with the idea of asking Jack about their behaviour. The spirit was often a wellspring of knowledge that Jamie could only guess at the origin. The again, he considered, Jack often grew the tiniest bit withdrawn whenever the past was mentioned – not World War One from Jamie's assignment last term, or the evidence scientists recently discovered, like on the TV program Jamie found the other night. Rather – Jack would become hesitant when Jamie asked things about his personal life. When the topic of childhood friends came up, Jack barely even got a word out in contribution. He seemed to deflate and Jamie sensed that maybe he should leave well enough alone from events that hadn't made it into an encyclopaedia. Strictly text-book, or recent events – that had become Jamie's mental mantra during their latest conversations. If it happened before Jamie had been born, he assumed Jack didn't want to talk about it. Whatever 'it' was.

"_Psst_ – J!"

Jamie's attention was grabbed by the prodding finger in his ribs. Monty was sitting next to him with an odd expression on his face.

"What?" Jamie whispered back, careful not to alert Ms Dobbs to the secret conversations taking place behind her back.

"I've been trying to get your attention for ages!"

"Sorry, I was thinking about, uh…other stuff," Jamie replied, for some reason, unwilling to admit his thoughts had strayed so far from the lesson, only to end up centring on Jack.

"Wow, you're as bad as Claude, man. Musta' been one hell of a train of thought," Monty whispered with a hushed laugh.

Jamie smiled thinly, realising belatedly that he _was_ acting like 'lover boy', "I suppose it was…"


End file.
